‘Chaos, free-for-all at City Hall’ – Jagdeo

… says audit needed into City Hall’s spending

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday stated that President David Granger should have done more than order City Hall to find accommodation for the Stabroek Market Square vendors, who have been temporarily relocated to a leased land at the corner Hadfield and Lombard Streets, Georgetown.

Jagdeo asserted that the President gave a “lecture” instead of providing a solution for the problem at City Hall.
He stated that while he is pleased that the President addressed the statutory meeting of the City Council, what he pronounced there could have been said a long time ago.
“It is chaos and free for all at the City Council,” he said, adding that there is no moral authority within the City body.
At the meeting, President Granger stated that his Government would like to see street vendors properly accommodated—preferably under roof to guard them from the rains and heat.
He also suggested the exploration of extending the existing market.
Jagdeo, on the other hand, stated that while he was in office he had visited City Hall twice and had poured over $200 million into it from Central Government on each of those visits.
“We didn’t go over and give a lecture. The City Hall has been controlled by APNU for the past 50 years…the money was spent on other things, not on services to people.”
In early May over 100 vendors were removed from the Stabroek Market Square and relocated to the plot of land at the corner of Lombard and Hadfield Streets, southwest of Parliament building.
Town Clerk Royston King had stated that since it was the Council which was responsible for the move, it is now their responsibility to have them relocated once again.
King instructed the Council to produce a policy on street vending and attain a new location before November, which is the deadline for the vendors to vacate the land they are now selling on. If the policy is not completed by November, the municipality could face grave problems.
Jagdeo indicated that the previous administration paid over $300 million to Toolsie Persaud to repossess a plot of land on Water Street and gave it to vendors—the now Vendors Arcade.
“Our approach was different…we did things in reality. We didn’t do like the president and said accommodate the vendors… he could have told City Hall this a long time ago, adding “he could have said clean up the place but don’t take away people’s income!”
The M&CC is expected to get a three-month extension for the vendors to remain at the corner of Hadfield and Lombard Streets.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo stated that Granger should look into City Hall’s spending of the $800 million allocated to it for the past year.
“He could say to City Hall I want to see your spending for the last year since I have been President… how much of the $800 million have you spent…how many public tenders were done and who got the contracts,” he recommended.
Jagdeo asserted that persons were being “hand-picked” and given contracts worth “$30 million and $50 million” without a public tender. He opined that this was occurring because the Municipality was seeing that Central Government was doing the same.